Living in Denial
by pupeez4eva
Summary: Even as he told the story, a voice in his head told him that Jasper was dead, and no amount of stories about bears, and light up shoes, and miraculous escapes would change the fact that his friend had died after falling from that cliff.


Nikki was excited, Max was annoyed, and Neil was sceptical. Space Kid was busy being trapped. And David was reminiscing, telling them all about that crazy adventure he'd had all those years ago. When he thought about it, there were times when he could hardly believe it happened. Him, Jasper and Mr. Campbell, taking on nature, and working as a team to get Jasper back, and make it back to the camp.

They'd succeeded. They'd made it back, and David had a proud, shining badge to prove it.

 _They gave him that as more of a pity token than anything. Something to tell him that he'd tried his best, even though his best hadn't been good enough._

He'd loved the camp so much after that day. As much as Jasper had. He'd truly fallen in love with it, with nature, with that sense of camp camaraderie, and he had Jasper to thank for that.

 _He went home the next day. They told him it wasn't his fault, that he'd done everything he could._

He admired Jasper so much. It hadn't taken Jasper a near-fatal trip to realise how luckily they truly were. But David had gotten there in the end, and now he just wanted to share that experience with the next generation of young campers.

 _His parents kept telling him to stop. It wasn't healthy. It wouldn't change anything._

Jasper wasn't dead. He'd survived. He'd gotten lucky, the water had broken his fall. The bears had found him, but David and Mr. Campbell had gotten him out. They'd made their way back to the camp, with David feeling slightly bad for the fate that the bears had met. He admired Mr. Campbell, but he still wished he hadn't killed those bears.

 _"…the boy died on impact." The TV switched off. David's mother stood behind him, her brows creased in concern. "That could have been Jasper," he murmured, shuddering, ignoring the way his mother's face crumpled._

Max snorted. "No way that actually happened."

"It happened, Max," David said cheerfully. "It just goes to show - you can have some truly amazing adventures at Camp Campbell!"

"There's no _way,"_ Neil interjected. "No one could survive a fall like that and come out completely unscathed."

"Well, Jasper did. He was the best camper for a reason, you know."

 _"Davey," his father said, his hand on David's shoulder. His mother stands behind him, quiet and sad. "You need to stop this. Your friend…"_

"You're making this up."

"I'm telling you, it's _not_ possible."

 _"Davey…he couldn't possibly have survived that fall. I'm so sorry kiddo."_

"Jasper was fine," David said, ignoring the way his hands tightened on the steering wheel. "I guess it was the water. It's a good thing he didn't hit any branches on the way down, or hit the ground, or he would have been in real trouble."

 _They sent him to see a therapist. They told him that he needed to remember that it wasn't his fault. He'd done all he could to save his friend. He wasn't responsible for what had happened. And he'd done everything to find his friend after he'd fallen. He hadn't given up on him. But there was nothing he could do for Jasper by that point._

"You are _so_ making this whole thing up," Max grumbled. "What, did you and your weird friend actually come up with that whole story together, or was it just your fucked-up mind?"

"I _loved_ it!" Nikki said, beaming.

Neil rolled his eyes.

"I just want you kids to know that you can make some real bonds at Camp Campbell. We're a family there. And maybe you think I'm being silly, but that's really what I truly believe. Just look at you three, and everything you've experienced together."

The kids don't reply, but in the rearview mirror, David could see the grudging acceptance in Max's eyes, the smile on Nikki's face as she glanced at Max and Neil, and Neil's awkward shrug. David knew he was right. Maybe they wouldn't admit that they'd come to care for the camp, but they'd made new friends, formed new bonds.

 _Even as he told the story, a voice in his head told him that Jasper was dead, and no amount of stories about bears, and light up shoes, and miraculous escapes would change the fact that his friend had died after falling from that cliff._

He'd made bonds of his own during his time at Camp Campbell. And nothing would change that.


End file.
